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Mike Burns started his Cal State L.A. baseball career as an infielder and ended it as a two-time All-California Collegiate Athletic Association pitcher and a 30th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros.
Burns joined the Cal State L.A. baseball program in 1997 and appeared in 47 games and accumulated a total of 127 at bats for a Golden Eagle team that won its first conference title in 20 years.
He blossomed as a pitcher over his final three years with the program. He earned 13 wins for the Golden Eagles in his three years on the mound and earned All-CCAA honors for the first time as a junior when he went 5-3 with a 3.26 earned run average in 1999. He led the team that year in ERA, wins, complete games with four, innings pitched with 94 and strikeouts with 79. He earned All-CCAA honors again in 2000 as a senior after going 5-5 with a 3.44 earned run average. He led the team once again with 99 1/3 innings pitched and 95 strikeouts.
Burns’ highlight at Cal State L.A. came on March 21, 2000 when he tossed a nine-inning no-hitter against Cal State Dominguez Hills. The no-hitter was nearly a perfect game, but a lone batter reached base on an error in the fourth inning. He struck out five and only five outs were recorded by outfielders.
Burns was then taken by the Houston Astros in the 2000 draft and made his Major League Baseball debut with the Astros in 2005. He also pitched for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox in 2006 and made it back to the Majors again in 2009 with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burns made his first career start in the Majors for the Brewers on June 25, 2009 against the Minnesota Twins. He made 15 appearances for the Brewers that season, including eight starts. He posted three wins and threw a total of 51 2/3 innings.
His professional highlight came in 2005 when he was on the Houston Astros team that won the National League and reached the World Series.
Burns earned his degree in criminal justice from Cal State L.A. in 2000. He is married to his wife, Claudia, who was a soccer player at Cal State L.A. They have two young sons.
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